wraggster
October 18th, 2006, 20:34
Via Jim Hill (http://jimhillmedia.com/blogs/jim_hill/archive/2006/10/16/6221.aspx)
Were you wondering what Bob Iger's going to do during his second year as Disney's new CEO? How he's ever going to top that $7.4 billion acquisition of Pixar Animation Studios? Jim Hill has some news that's sure to intrigue all of you HP & LOTR fans out there
So what's the verdict on Bob Iger's first year as the new head of the Walt Disney Company? Judging by various press reports that I've read over the past two weeks, most people seem to think that Bob's done a pretty good job so far.
Oh, sure. There are those (myself included) who think that the Walt Disney Company paid way too much for Pixar. And there's still an awful lot of upheaval going on at Disney Feature Animation (Where just last week, it was revealed that there will be significant staff cuts once production of "Meet the Robinsons" is completed) as well as Walt Disney Imagineering (Where it's recently been rumored that several members of senior management will soon be shown the door).
But overall, the general feeling these days seems to be that the Mouse House is getting its house in order. And a lot of the credit for both Disney's rising stock price as well as the rising morale levels among Disney employees has to be given to Bob Iger.
Soooo ... Having had such a positive impact on the corporation during his first year on the job, what's Bob going to do now to top that? Well, to be honest, Iger's looking to borrow a page from Michael Eisner's old playbook.
To explain: How many people remember how exciting it was back in the mid-1980s when -- thanks to Eisner's Hollywood connections -- many of Tinseltown's top talents were suddenly willing to work with the Mouse? We're talking about people like Steven Spielberg (Who used his considerable clout to finally get "Who Framed Roger Rabbit" made) and George Lucas (Who lent both his "Star Wars" characters as well as his technical expertise to WDI in order to make "Star Tours" happen).
Unfortunately, Steven & George were eventually put off by Michael's overly-aggressive management style. Which is why Spielberg & Lucas both basically stopped doing business with Mickey by the mid-1990s. But -- for a brief while there -- it was a very exciting time to be a Disney fan. The very idea that George Lucas & Steven Spielberg -- the modern masters of film fantasy -- were both working with the studio as well as Imagineering in order to create brand-new films and theme park rides ... It just boggled the mind.
Well, now it's October of 2006. And while Spielberg & Lucas are still in the game, many other masters of fantasy have come on the scene in the past two decades. People who've created compelling new characters that have connected with audiences around the globe.
And Iger? He's anxious to start doing business with people like this. So that Bob can prove to the world that -- once again -- the Walt Disney Company is a place where top talents work together to creat the very best in family entertainment.
Toward that end, Disney officials very quietly began talks with J.K. Rowling, the acclaimed author of the "Harry Potter" series. And after months of negotiations, Rowling finally signed a letter of intent. Which then awarded the Walt Disney Company the right to begin preliminary development of a theme park-related project featuring the Harry Potter characters.
Now please note that we're only talking about just a letter of intent here. Which -- according to investorsworld.com -- is:
A letter from one company to another acknowledging a willingness and ability to do business ... A letter of intent is not a contract and cannot be enforced, it is just a document stating serious intent to carry out certain business activities.
And given Ms. Rowling's reputation for being one tough negotiator (Case in point: When Warner Bros. was getting ready to produce the very first "Harry Potter" film, the studio insisted that at least one actor in the cast be a "name." To be specific, Warners wanted Robin Williams for the role of Hagrid. But J.K. absolutely refused to allow the studio to cast this Academy-award winning comedian as Hogwart's big-hearted gamekeeper. And given that one of the terms of the sale of "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone" movie rights was that the author had final approval over the film's cast ... Well, that's how Robbie Coltrane wound up filling Hagrid's over-sized boots) ... Just because Disney now has a letter of intent with J.K. Rowling doesn't mean that you should plan on queuing up for "Harry Potter: The Ride" anytime soon.
Mind you, Disney's still hoping that negotiations can be completed in time for the company to be able to formally announce its arrangement with Rowling between July 7, 2007 (I.E. When the seventh & final Harry Potter book will be released to stores) and July 13, 2007 (When the movie version of "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix" is released to theaters). When the world is expected to be in the grips of unprecedented Harry Potter mania.
Still, given how protective J.K. can be about her characters ... Disney knows better than to count on their "Harry Potter" letter of intent being turned into a really-for-real full-blown contract. Which is why senior company officials decided to put together a contingency plan. One that would still allow the Mouse to be in business with a modern master of fantasy should Rowling actually decide to pull the plug on Disney's theme park deal.
"And which other modern master of fantasy are we talking about?," you ask. Well, how many of you caught that story last week about how the Walt Disney Company has been in discussions with Peter Jackson and the Weta Workshop? You know, the folks responsible for the smash hit "Lord of the Rings" film trilogy?
Th press reports will tell you that the real reason that Mouse House officials have been meeting with Jackson is because Disney is interested in using Weta's artists to create new animated films for the studio. But given that Walt Disney Pictures is actually planning on scaling back on the number of feature length cartoons that it will be releasing each year (With the hope that this artificial scarcity will then translate into renewed audiences' interest in new Disney animated films) ... Well, that cover story doesn't hold much water then, does it?
So what other reason might Disney officials have for meeting with Peter Jackson? Perhaps to gain access to Weta's extensive design library for a yet-to-be-announced "LOTR" -based project?
Well ... Let's just say that -- should J.K. Rowling opt not to take her current arrangement with the Mouse beyond the letter-of-intent phase -- Mickey now has a hobbit up his sleeve.
Anyway ... If you were wondering what Bob Iger was going to top last year's landmark deal to acquire Pixar Animation Studios ... Well, now you know.
Your thoughts?
Were you wondering what Bob Iger's going to do during his second year as Disney's new CEO? How he's ever going to top that $7.4 billion acquisition of Pixar Animation Studios? Jim Hill has some news that's sure to intrigue all of you HP & LOTR fans out there
So what's the verdict on Bob Iger's first year as the new head of the Walt Disney Company? Judging by various press reports that I've read over the past two weeks, most people seem to think that Bob's done a pretty good job so far.
Oh, sure. There are those (myself included) who think that the Walt Disney Company paid way too much for Pixar. And there's still an awful lot of upheaval going on at Disney Feature Animation (Where just last week, it was revealed that there will be significant staff cuts once production of "Meet the Robinsons" is completed) as well as Walt Disney Imagineering (Where it's recently been rumored that several members of senior management will soon be shown the door).
But overall, the general feeling these days seems to be that the Mouse House is getting its house in order. And a lot of the credit for both Disney's rising stock price as well as the rising morale levels among Disney employees has to be given to Bob Iger.
Soooo ... Having had such a positive impact on the corporation during his first year on the job, what's Bob going to do now to top that? Well, to be honest, Iger's looking to borrow a page from Michael Eisner's old playbook.
To explain: How many people remember how exciting it was back in the mid-1980s when -- thanks to Eisner's Hollywood connections -- many of Tinseltown's top talents were suddenly willing to work with the Mouse? We're talking about people like Steven Spielberg (Who used his considerable clout to finally get "Who Framed Roger Rabbit" made) and George Lucas (Who lent both his "Star Wars" characters as well as his technical expertise to WDI in order to make "Star Tours" happen).
Unfortunately, Steven & George were eventually put off by Michael's overly-aggressive management style. Which is why Spielberg & Lucas both basically stopped doing business with Mickey by the mid-1990s. But -- for a brief while there -- it was a very exciting time to be a Disney fan. The very idea that George Lucas & Steven Spielberg -- the modern masters of film fantasy -- were both working with the studio as well as Imagineering in order to create brand-new films and theme park rides ... It just boggled the mind.
Well, now it's October of 2006. And while Spielberg & Lucas are still in the game, many other masters of fantasy have come on the scene in the past two decades. People who've created compelling new characters that have connected with audiences around the globe.
And Iger? He's anxious to start doing business with people like this. So that Bob can prove to the world that -- once again -- the Walt Disney Company is a place where top talents work together to creat the very best in family entertainment.
Toward that end, Disney officials very quietly began talks with J.K. Rowling, the acclaimed author of the "Harry Potter" series. And after months of negotiations, Rowling finally signed a letter of intent. Which then awarded the Walt Disney Company the right to begin preliminary development of a theme park-related project featuring the Harry Potter characters.
Now please note that we're only talking about just a letter of intent here. Which -- according to investorsworld.com -- is:
A letter from one company to another acknowledging a willingness and ability to do business ... A letter of intent is not a contract and cannot be enforced, it is just a document stating serious intent to carry out certain business activities.
And given Ms. Rowling's reputation for being one tough negotiator (Case in point: When Warner Bros. was getting ready to produce the very first "Harry Potter" film, the studio insisted that at least one actor in the cast be a "name." To be specific, Warners wanted Robin Williams for the role of Hagrid. But J.K. absolutely refused to allow the studio to cast this Academy-award winning comedian as Hogwart's big-hearted gamekeeper. And given that one of the terms of the sale of "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone" movie rights was that the author had final approval over the film's cast ... Well, that's how Robbie Coltrane wound up filling Hagrid's over-sized boots) ... Just because Disney now has a letter of intent with J.K. Rowling doesn't mean that you should plan on queuing up for "Harry Potter: The Ride" anytime soon.
Mind you, Disney's still hoping that negotiations can be completed in time for the company to be able to formally announce its arrangement with Rowling between July 7, 2007 (I.E. When the seventh & final Harry Potter book will be released to stores) and July 13, 2007 (When the movie version of "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix" is released to theaters). When the world is expected to be in the grips of unprecedented Harry Potter mania.
Still, given how protective J.K. can be about her characters ... Disney knows better than to count on their "Harry Potter" letter of intent being turned into a really-for-real full-blown contract. Which is why senior company officials decided to put together a contingency plan. One that would still allow the Mouse to be in business with a modern master of fantasy should Rowling actually decide to pull the plug on Disney's theme park deal.
"And which other modern master of fantasy are we talking about?," you ask. Well, how many of you caught that story last week about how the Walt Disney Company has been in discussions with Peter Jackson and the Weta Workshop? You know, the folks responsible for the smash hit "Lord of the Rings" film trilogy?
Th press reports will tell you that the real reason that Mouse House officials have been meeting with Jackson is because Disney is interested in using Weta's artists to create new animated films for the studio. But given that Walt Disney Pictures is actually planning on scaling back on the number of feature length cartoons that it will be releasing each year (With the hope that this artificial scarcity will then translate into renewed audiences' interest in new Disney animated films) ... Well, that cover story doesn't hold much water then, does it?
So what other reason might Disney officials have for meeting with Peter Jackson? Perhaps to gain access to Weta's extensive design library for a yet-to-be-announced "LOTR" -based project?
Well ... Let's just say that -- should J.K. Rowling opt not to take her current arrangement with the Mouse beyond the letter-of-intent phase -- Mickey now has a hobbit up his sleeve.
Anyway ... If you were wondering what Bob Iger was going to top last year's landmark deal to acquire Pixar Animation Studios ... Well, now you know.
Your thoughts?